Effects of endocrine disorders on maxillary and mandibular growth in Colombian children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the influence of overweight/obesity, medicated hypothyroidism, and medicated non-syndromic hypogrowth on maxillary and mandibular growth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The relation between 10 craniofacial anthropometric measurements and hypothyroidism (n = 216), overweight/obesity (n = 108), and non-syndromic hypogrowth (n = 250) were evaluated in patients aged 1-19 years and a control group of healthy patients (n = 587). A subgroup analysis was performed at the peak growth in all groups. RESULTS: Patients with overweight/obesity and hypothyroidism showed increased craniofacial growth, while hypogrowth patients showed differences in zygomatic width and nasal base growth. Females with hypothyroidism and non-syndromic hypogrowth showed decreased head circumference at peak growth. Several anthropometric measurements were increased in patients with overweight/obesity, including head circumference. When all age groups were analyzed, overweight/obese and hypothyroidism patients showed increased zygomatic width while decreased hypogrowth. Overall, most craniofacial anthropometric measurements in overweight/obese patients were increased. Finally, the peak growth in males with hypothyroidism and subjects with non-syndromic hypogrowth was delayed compared to the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Children and adolescents with overweight/obesity and endocrine disorders showed alterations in craniofacial growth. Clinicians must be aware that the growth peak in these patients may be delayed when planning maxillary and mandibular orthopedic treatment.

Rethinking swimming performance tests for bottom-dwelling fish: the case of European glass eel (Anguilla anguilla).

Systematic experiments on European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in their juvenile, early life stage (glass eel), were conducted to provide new insights on the fish swimming performance and propose a framework of analysis to design swimming-performance experiments for bottom-dwelling fish. In particular, we coupled experimental and computational fluid dynamics techniques to: (i) accommodate glass eel burst-and-coast swimming mode and estimate the active swimming time (tac), not considering coast and drift periods, (ii) estimate near-bottom velocities (Ub) experienced by the fish, rather than using bulk averages (U), (iii) investigate water temperature (T) influence on swimming ability, and (iv) identify a functional relation between Ub, tac and T. Results showed that burst-and-coast swimming mode was increasingly adopted by glass eel, especially when U was higher than 0.3 ms-1. Using U rather than Ub led to an overestimation of the fish swimming performance from 18 to 32%, on average. Under the range of temperatures analyzed (from 8 to 18 °C), tac was strongly influenced and positively related to T. As a final result, we propose a general formula to link near-bottom velocity, water temperature and active swimming time which can be useful in ecological engineering applications and reads as [Formula: see text].

Water disinfection by orifice-induced hydrodynamic cavitation.

Hydrodynamic Cavitation (HC) is considered as a promising water-disinfection technique. Due to the enormous complexity of the physical and chemical processes at play, research on HC reactors is usually carried out following an empirical approach. Surprisingly, past experimental studies have never been designed on dimensional-analysis principles, which makes it difficult to identify the key processes controlling the problem, isolate their effects and scale up the results from laboratory to full-scale scenarios. The present paper overcomes this issue and applies the principles of dimensional analysis to identify the major non-dimensional parameters controlling disinfection efficacy in classical HC reactors, namely orifice plates. On the basis of this analysis, it presents results from a new set of experiments, which were designed to isolate mainly the effects of the so-called cavitation number (σv). Experimental data confirm that the disinfection efficacy of orifice plates increases with decreasing σv. Finally, in order to discuss the significance of the results presented herein and frame the scope of future research, the present paper provides an overview of the drawbacks associated with dimensional analysis within the context of HC.

Reducing deposition of encrustation in ureteric stents by changing the stent architecture: A microfluidic-based investigation.

Ureteric stents are clinically deployed to retain ureteral patency in the presence of an obstruction of the ureter lumen. Despite the fact that multiple stent designs have been researched in recent years, encrustation and biofilm-associated infections remain significant complications of ureteral stenting, potentially leading to the functional failure of the stent. It has been suggested that "inactive" side-holes of stents may act as anchoring sites for encrusting crystals, as they are associated with low wall shear stress (WSS) levels. Obstruction of side-holes due to encrustation is particularly detrimental to the function of the stent, since holes provide a path for urine to by-pass the occlusion. Therefore, there is an unmet need to develop novel stents to reduce deposition of encrusting particles at side-holes. In this study, we employed a stent-on-chip microfluidic model of the stented and occluded ureter to investigate the effect of stent architecture on WSS distribution and encrustation over its surface. Variations in the stent geometry encompassed (i) the wall thickness and (ii) the shape of side-holes. Stent thickness was varied in the range 0.3-0.7 mm, while streamlined side-holes of triangular shape were evaluated (with a vertex angle in the range 45°-120°). Reducing the thickness of the stent increased WSS and thus reduced the encrustation rate at side-holes. A further improvement in performance was achieved by using side-holes with a triangular shape; notably, a 45° vertex angle showed superior performance compared to other angles investigated, resulting in a significant increase in WSS within "inactive" side-holes. In conclusion, combining the optimal stent thickness (0.3 mm) and hole vertex angle (45°) resulted in a ∼90% reduction in encrustation rate within side-holes, compared to a standard design. If translated to a full-scale ureteric stent, this optimised architecture has the potential for significantly increasing the stent lifetime while reducing clinical complications.

AERMOD as a Gaussian dispersion model for planning tracer gas dispersion tests for landfill methane emission quantification.

The measurement of methane emissions from landfills is important to the understanding of landfills' contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. The Tracer Dispersion Method (TDM) is becoming widely accepted as a technique, which allows landfill emissions to be quantified accurately provided that measurements are taken where the plumes of a released tracer-gas and landfill-gas are well-mixed. However, the distance at which full mixing of the gases occurs is generally unknown prior to any experimental campaign. To overcome this problem the present paper demonstrates that, for any specific TDM application, a simple Gaussian dispersion model (AERMOD) can be run beforehand to help determine the distance from the source at which full mixing conditions occur, and the likely associated measurement errors. An AERMOD model was created to simulate a series of TDM trials carried out at a UK landfill, and was benchmarked against the experimental data obtained. The model was used to investigate the impact of different factors (e.g. tracer cylinder placements, wind directions, atmospheric stability parameters) on TDM results to identify appropriate experimental set ups for different conditions. The contribution of incomplete vertical mixing of tracer and landfill gas on TDM measurement error was explored using the model. It was observed that full mixing conditions at ground level do not imply full mixing over the entire plume height. However, when full mixing conditions were satisfied at ground level, then the error introduced by variations in mixing higher up were always less than 10%.

The indicator test Neuropad in the assessment of small and overall nerve fibre dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes: a large multicentre study.

We examined the diagnostic utility of the indicator test Neuropad in the assessment of overall and small fibre dysfunction in 1,010 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (608 men, mean age 63.9 ± 10.3 years) from 5 diabetes clinics. Sudomotor function was diagnosed by the Neuropad® test. Overall and small nerve fibre dysfunction was diagnosed through clinical examination and symptoms. Patients were divided into Groups A (441 patients with sudomotor dysfunction) and B (569 patients without sudomotor dysfunction). The former were older (p<0.05) and had longer T2DM duration (p<0.05) than the latter. For overall nerve fibre dysfunction, abnormal Neuropad defined as patchy/blue had 94.9% sensitivity, 70.2% specificity and 98.1% negative predictive value (NPV), while for small fibre dysfunction the corresponding values were 85.6%, 71.2% and 93.3%. For overall nerve fibre dysfunction, abnormal Neuropad defined as blue had 64% sensitivity, 96% specificity and 91% NPV, while for small fibre dysfunction the corresponding values were 52%, 96% and 85%. The odds ratios (ORs) of Neuropad patchy/blue for overall and for small fibre dysfunction were 43.7 and 14.7, respectively. The ORs of Neuropad blue for overall and for small fibre dysfunction were 45.7 and 24.9, respectively. In conclusion, Neuropad patchy/blue response exhibited better diagnostic performance both for overall and small nerve fibre dysfunction. Its very high NPV renders it an excellent screening tool primarily to exclude neuropathy in T2DM.

Microbial community analysis of fouled reverse osmosis membranes used in water recycling.

Biofouling on RO membranes has major cost implications in water reclamation. In this study membranes and water samples were collected from a RO pilot-plant operated on two sites to study the differences in microbial communities in order to develop a better understanding of the biofouling. For the two sites studied, the examination of the front membrane of the first stage and the tail membrane of the second stage of the RO train using 16S rRNA gene-based molecular technique showed that bacteria were similar on both stages and no significant effect of the membrane location within the RO train on the biofilm development could be discerned. However, the comparison of the identified bacteria from membrane samples between the two sites showed that each site is specific, leading to a different composition of microbial communities. The different nutrient concentrations in the RO feed water due to the different biological pre-treatments are one potential explanation for the observed differences in the microbial communities. Seasonal variations also play a major role in the development of microbial communities as shown by the significant differences observed between the communities measured in the samples in winter and summer on the second site. The results did not show similarity between the species identified on the RO membranes and in the feed water. Hence, the relationship of microbial community between the water generated during the pre-treatment process and RO membranes is not obvious. From this study, results showed that there is an actual need to investigate the development of microbial communities on membrane surface in real conditions in order to suggest tailored solutions for biofouling control and removal.

A simple new non-invasive sweat indicator test for the diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy.

A simple non-invasive indicator test (Neuropad(®)) has been developed for the assessment of sweating and, hence, cholinergic innervation in the diabetic foot. The present review summarizes current knowledge on this diagnostic test. The diagnostic ability of this test is based on a colour change from blue to pink at 10 min, with excellent reproducibility, which lends itself to patient self-examination. It has a high sensitivity (65.1-100%) and negative predictive value (63-100%), with moderate specificity (32-78.5%) and positive predictive value (23.3-93.2%) for the diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. It also has moderate to high sensitivity (59.1-89%) and negative predictive value (64.7-91%), but low to moderate specificity (27-78%) and positive predictive value (24-48.6%) for the diagnosis of diabetic cardiac autonomic neuropathy. There are some data to suggest that Neuropad can detect early diabetic neuropathy, but this needs further evaluation. It remains to be established whether this test can predict foot ulceration and amputation, thereby contributing to the identification of high-risk patients.

Incretins in type 2 diabetes mellitus: cardiovascular and anti-atherogenic effects beyond glucose lowering.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most outspreading disease of the western world and it provides cardiovascular disease. During the past decade new drug categories were added to the already existing ones. Perhaps, the most outstanding, as promising, too, are glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) analogues, which pinpointed at the incretin hormone system, targeting mainly at the postprandial hyperglycemia.It seemed that these novel drugs have beneficial effects on ischemic heart, heart failure,blood pressure, even on lipids and body weight in type 2 diabetics, considering them not only as another glucose lowering agent. A lot of recent studies investigate the potential relationship between GLP-1 and its possible cardioprotective and anti-atherogenic effects in type 2 diabetes and the present review discusses these effects of GLP-1.

Impact of seawater-quality and water treatment procedures on the active bacterial assemblages at two desalination sites.

Inorganic and organic compounds, particles and microorganisms in intake waters are mainly responsible for fouling of reverse osmosis membranes, which reduces the efficiency of the desalination process. The characterization of seawater quality to better predict its fouling potential remains a challenge for the desalination field and little is known about the seasonal variability of water quality parameters in the coastal waters used to supply desalination plants. In this study, standard water quality methods were combined with flow cytometry and molecular methods (16S rRNA sequencing and fingerprinting) to assess in parallel, the physicochemical properties, the microbial abundance and the active microbial community composition of the intake waters and their associated pretreated waters at two desalination sites from July 2007 to July 2008. The overall assessment of quality parameters revealed that microfiltration followed by slow sand filtration were the most efficient in removing microorganisms than the conventional dual media filtration routinely used in full-scale desalination plants, and that all treatments were inefficient for organic matter reduction. Temporal variation of the environmental parameters such as temperature, turbidity and silt density index only moderately affected the bacterial community structure in raw waters, but that interestingly, water treatment compartments changed the composition and diversity of the metabolically active bacterial populations and thus create distinct ecological post-treatment niches.

Dynamic bacterial communities on reverse-osmosis membranes in a full-scale desalination plant.

To better understand biofouling of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membranes, bacterial diversity was characterized in the intake water, in subsequently pretreated water and on SWRO membranes from a full-scale desalination plant (FSDP) during a 9 month period. 16S rRNA gene fingerprinting and sequencing revealed that bacterial communities in the water samples and on the SWRO membranes were very different. For the different sampling dates, the bacterial diversity of the active and the total bacterial fractions of the water samples remained relatively stable over the sampling period whereas the bacterial community structure on the four SWRO membrane samples was significantly different. The richness and evenness of the SWRO membrane bacterial communities increased with usage time with an increase in the Shannon diversity index of 2.2 to 3.7. In the oldest SWRO membrane (330 days), no single operational taxonomic unit (OTU) dominated and the majority of the OTUs fell into the Alphaproteobacteria or the Planctomycetes. In striking contrast, a Betaproteobacteria OTU affiliated to the genus Ideonella was dominant and exclusively found in the membrane used for the shortest time (10 days). This suggests that bacteria belonging to this genus could be one of the primary colonizers of the SWRO membrane. Knowledge of the dominant bacterial species on SWRO membranes and their dynamics should help guide culture studies for physiological characterization of biofilm forming species.

Risk factors for ipsilateral reamputation in patients with diabetic foot lesions.

This study aimed to examine the rates and risk factors for ipsilateral re-amputation in 121 patients with diabetic foot and prior amputation. Twenty-six (21.5%) patients required re-amputation during a mean follow-up of 18 months. Most re-amputations were performed within the first 6 months of the initial amputation. Re-amputation was more common among patients in whom the initial amputation had only affected one or two toes. Age (hazard ratio: 1.06) and heel lesions (hazard ratio: 2.69) were significantly associated with re-amputation. There is a high risk of re-amputation in the diabetic foot, especially within the first 6 months of the initial amputation, mainly due to poor selection of the original amputation level in an effort to save a greater part of the lower extremity. Patients 70 years and those with heel lesions are at greatest risk of re-amputation.

Radical resection of pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PCa) is a disease with dismal prognosis, and the only possibility of cure, albeit small, is based on the combination of complete resection with negative histopathological margins (R0 resection) with adjuvant treatment. Therefore, a lot of effort has been made during the last decade to assess the role of extensive surgery in both local recurrence and survival of patients with PCa. DATA SOURCES: Medline search and manual cross-referencing were utilized to identify published evidence-based data for PCa surgery between 1973 and 2006, with emphasis to feasibility, efficacy, long-term survival, disease free survival, recurrence rates, pain relief and quality of life. RESULTS: Extended surgery is safe and feasible in high volume surgical centers with comparable short-term results. Organ preserving surgery is a main goal because of quality of life reasons and is performed whenever possible from the tumor extent. Concerning long-term survival major vein resection does not adversely affect outcome. To date, there are no changes in long-term survival attributed to the extended lymph node dissection. However, there is a benefit in locoregional control with fewer local recurrences and extended lymphadenectomy allows better staging for the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Extended PCa surgery is safe and feasible despite the inconclusive results in patient's survival benefit. In the future, appropriately powered randomized trials of standard vs. extended resections may show improved outcomes for PCa patients.

Activation of a pollenin promoter upon nematode infection.

Three glycine-rich protein genes of Arabidopsis thaliana (Atgrp-6, Atgrp-7, and Atgrp-8) that correspond to putative genes coding for pollenins (AtolnB;2, AtolnB;3, and AtolnB;4, respectively) are expressed predominantly in the anthers and, more specifically, in the tapetum layer. Tapetal cells are responsible for nutrition of developing pollen grains and show some functional similarities to nematode feeding sites (NFS) induced in plant roots by sedentary parasitic nematodes. The aim of this study was to analyze promoter activity of the Atgrp genes in NFS. Transformed Arabidopsis plants containing a promoter-ss-glucuronidase (gus) fusion of the Atgrp-7 gene were inoculated with the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita and the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii. GUS assays were performed at different time points after infection. Histochemical analysis revealed an up-regulation of Atgrp-7-gus expression 3 days after inoculation in the feeding sites of both nematodes. Maximal Atgrp-7-gus staining levels in NFS were observed 1 week after nematode infection.

De novo cortical cell division triggered by the phytopathogen Rhodococcus fascians in tobacco.

Plant growth, development, and morphology can be affected by several environmental stimuli and by specific interactions with phytopathogens. In many cases, plants respond to pathogenic stimuli by adapting their hormone levels. Here, the interaction between the phytopathogen Rhodococcus fascians and one of its host plants, tobacco, was analyzed phenotypically and molecularly. To elucidate the basis of the cell division modulation and shoot primordia initiation caused by R. fascians, tobacco plants were infected at leaf axils and shoot apices. Adventitious meristems that gave rise to multiple-shoot primordia (leafy galls) were formed. The use of a transgenic line carrying the mitotic CycB1 promoter fused to the reporter gene coding for beta-glucuronidase from Escherichia coli (uidA), revealed that stem cortical cells were stimulated to divide in an initial phase of the leafy gall ontogenesis. Local cytokinin and auxin levels throughout the infection process as well as modulation of expression of the cell cycle regulator gene Nicta;CycD3;2 are discussed.

Human placental NAD(P)H oxidase: solubilization and properties.

The NAD(P)H oxidase in the syncytiotrophoblast of the term human placenta, which had previously been identified only by cytochemical methods, has been solubilized and a number of its biochemical properties have been defined. It is a protein composed of a 58 kDa and a 33 kDa subunit, with properties that clearly distinguish it from the respiratory burst oxidase of transient neutrophils and macrophages. The enzyme activity is constitutive in the trophoblast and is a source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the fetal-maternal interface.

Ultrasonographic features and patterns of regression after conservative treatment of retinoblastoma.

The authors analyze the echographic features relative to some cases of retinoblastoma treated with conservative therapy in order to monitor the regression of the tumor consequent to the treatment.

Parental history of hypertension and parental history of diabetes and microvascular complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: the EURODIAB IDDM Complications Study.

Diabetic nephropathy clusters in families, suggesting an inherited predisposition. Parental history of hypertension and of Type 2 diabetes mellitus have been associated with nephropathy in offspring with Type 1 diabetes in some studies but not in others. The associations of parental history of hypertension and of diabetes with both albuminuria and proliferative retinopathy were studied in a large cross-sectional study of 3250 patients with Type 1 diabetes, from 16 European countries. Albuminuria was associated with hypertension in a parent (p < 0.01 in men, p < 0.05 in women), adjusted for age. Patients with a parental history of hypertension had a higher prevalence of hypertension (p < 0.001 in men, p < 0.01 in women) and a higher prevalence of parental diabetes (p < 0.001 in men, p < 0.001 in women). The association of albuminuria with parental hypertension was independent of parental diabetes in men but not women (OR = 1.28 in men p = 0.04, OR = 1.25 in women p = 0.09) and was not independent of hypertension in the patient him/herself in either sex. Albuminuria was associated with parental diabetes in women only (OR = 1.36, p = 0.04). This association was independent of both parental hypertension and hypertension in the patient herself. Proliferative retinopathy was not associated with parental hypertension or diabetes. The implications of these data are that both candidate genes for hypertension and Type 2 diabetes should be considered in the search for the genetic determinants of diabetic nephropathy.

Epidemiology of diabetes mellitus in the elderly in northern Greece: a population study.

This population based study was undertaken to ascertain the overall prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in the elderly using the WHO criteria. The role of obesity in the development of DM or IGT has been investigated for both sexes per decade of age. Furthermore the potential for DM to increase with age, as has been suggested before, has been evaluated using the IGT as a proportion of total glucose intolerance (IGT/TGI) for the same parts of the tested sample. From the 647 persons registered as elderly people in a small town in northern Greece (total population 5875 people), 66 persons did not participate in this survey. Fifty-six subjects (9.7%) had previously diagnosed DM. The remainder were tested using fasting blood glucose measurements or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The prevalence of previously undiagnosed DM according to fasting blood glucose values or after 2 h of 75 g load values was 10.1% and 9.3%, respectively. Thus the overall prevalence of DM was 29.1% and of IGT was 15.1%. These data support an increased frequency of DM (65% previously undiagnosed) and IGT in the elderly, whereas this population's susceptibility seems to decline in the older groups for both sexes. Obesity remains a risk factor for DM and IGT particularly among the younger groups although its role has been found to decline with age.

Nonmitochondrial oxygen utilization by rabbit blastocysts and surface production of superoxide radicals.

A minimum value for nonmitochondrial oxygen utilization in rabbit blastocysts at day 6 post coitum was determined by measuring oxygen consumption in the presence of cyanide. A microcathode oxygen electrode was used to monitor oxygen concentration continuously during blastocyst incubation in a newly devised culture medium, and the uninhibited blastocyst was found to consume 2.79 +/- 0.09 microliters O2 h-1 cm-2. This rate was reduced by 51% in the presence of 1 mmol KCN l-1. The addition of nitroblue tetrazolium to the cyanide-containing medium reduced net oxygen consumption by an additional 23% as the nitroblue tetrazolium was reduced to formazan. The ability of rabbit blastocysts to reduce nitroblue tetrazolium in the presence of cyanide was investigated using a spectrophotometric assay. Fractionation of blastocyst cells revealed that the enzymatic activity chiefly responsible for formazan production partitioned with the membrane/particulate fraction and could be solubilized by the detergent NP40. The enzyme was NAD(P)H-dependent, did not require divalent cations for activity, and appeared to contain no haeme moiety. The rate of formazan production in the spectrophotometric assay was markedly reduced by the presence of superoxide dismutase. The oxygen electrode and spectrophotometer data indicate that there is a superoxide-generating NAD(P)H oxidase on the blastocyst surface. Calculations based on the average surface area of rabbit blastocysts at day 6 show that these embryos can produce at least 8 nmoles of superoxide per embryo h-1. Potential deciduogenic effects of blastocyst-derived superoxide and its dismutated product, hydrogen peroxide, are discussed.